A long stretch of the Agege motor road and Mushin-Itire road are becoming an eyesore to residents and motorists owing to the stench oozing from heaps of refuse littering the roads.

According to a trader, Mrs. Bosede Nurudeen, who sells provision by the side of the road, the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has stepped up its activities as companied to the negligible operations of Visionscape but the market areas need up-to-date evacuation of refuse.

“Many residents and traders usually dump their dirt by the roadside and markets. So, such busy and high-density areas should be routinely cleared of refuse, maybe daily or every two days, to avoid a huge pile-up; since in some residential areas, it is once a week that refuse heaps are evacuated,” she said.

Also, a cross-section of traders at the Ojuwoye Market in Mushin has lamented what they described as the deplorable condition of the access roads in the area and the filthy environment at the market. They explained that the situation was adversely affecting their businesses particularly during the rainy season, and urged concerned authorities to take drastic measures to redress the situation.

A grocery store owner, Friday Ikechukwu, said the deplorable condition of the only access road in the market hampers easy transportation of goods and movement of shoppers. He also said that one of the major challenges facing traders was insecurity adding that “some of my goods were stolen last week.”

A fabric merchant, Mrs. Rofiat Adebayo, attributed the deplorable environment to a lack of good drainage system. “I have been trading in this market for over 20 years. The access road is bad because there is no adequate drainage to let the water flow and this area is congested.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State government has threatened to shut down markets and parks refusing to patronise the private sector participation waste operators in the state. Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, said the government was prepared to support the waste operators with equipment and loans.

In a statement last week by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Kunle Adeshina, Bello noted that the state believed that increasing the capacity of the waste operators would ensure they delivered on their mandate of clearing refuse.

“The commissioner said in the coming weeks, he would be meeting with the leaders of market men, women and parks to ensure that the parks and markets are always clean and people do not dump waste indiscriminately. He emphasised that there would be zero tolerance for indiscriminate dumping of refuse in all markets and parks, warning that the present administration would not hesitate to shut down any market or park that fails to engage the services of a PSP operator to properly dispose of its refuse,” the statement added. (The Guardian)

Update news